Captain Steiner knocked and entered without waiting for permission, security trumped privacy when your hotel was under siege.
"Your Highness, we're monitoring the crowd.It's growing."
"How is that possible?I've been here two hours."
"Someone leaked your location."Her expression was unreadable, but I heard the implication.Someone had told the press exactly where to find me.
"Let me guess, palace sources?"
"The tip came through a media contact in Valdoria.We're investigating."
Of course it had.Because nothing about this nightmare could be simple.
I turned back to the window."They can't stay there forever."
"They can stay as long as you do, Your Highness.This is international news now.Royal bride flees palace after three weeks of marriage, it's front page everywhere."
I picked up my phone and opened the news apps I'd been avoiding.Captain Steiner was right.The headlines were brutal:
American Princess Abandons Royal Duties Marriage in Crisis.Flees Palace Sources Question Princess's Suitability for Royal Life
I scrolled through the articles, each one worse than the last.Anonymous palace insiders questioning my commitment.Royal experts analyzing my every public appearance for signs of strain.Comparisons to other royal marriage failures.
And then I saw it.
The headline that made my blood run cold:
Royal Alliance in Jeopardy: Palace Sources Confirm Talks with Russian Princess as American Bride Flees
I clicked through with hands that had started shaking.
The article was detailed.Too detailed.Photos of Viktor Beaumont meeting with a striking blonde woman identified as Princess Anastasia of Belarus.Dates, locations, specifics about "preliminary alliance discussions."Quotes from unnamed sources about how Anastasia had been the "preferred candidate" but was "passed over due to political pressure."
"Princess Anastasia brings generations of royal training and established diplomatic connections,"one source said."She would have been the natural choice if not for Valdoria's insistence on their American heir.Now that the marriage appears to be failing, alternative arrangements are being explored."
I read it twice, then a third time, my mind racing.
This wasn't about me being unsuitable.This wasn't even about the permanent marriage lie.
This was about replacing me.
Replacing the entire Western alliance with a Russian one.
I thought about Viktor's careful sympathy when I'd asked why they'd chosen me.How he'd mentioned Anastasia by name, explained her family's Moscow connections as if that disqualified her.How he'd made it sound like I was the consolation prize, picked only because the better option had problematic loyalties.
But what if that hadn't been the problem?What if those "problematic loyalties" were exactly what Viktor wanted?
My phone rang.Captain Steiner this time, her personal line.
"Don't answer the door," she said without preamble."We have a situation."
"What kind of situation?"
"The crowd outside just tripled."She stopped, and I heard shouting in the background."Your Highness, we need to move you.Now.This isn't safe anymore."
I looked out the window.The street below had turned into chaos.Photographers pushing, security trying to maintain a perimeter, hotel staff attempting to clear the entrance.As I watched, someone threw something at the building.A camera flash went off so bright I could see it from five floors up.
"Why are they doing this?"
